The Lady Celts’ 2023 season was filled with spurts that showed the promise and ability of the team, but those moments just couldn’t be sustained. Tuesday’s regular season finale against West Salem seemed to be a look into McNary’s season as a whole.
The 3-1 home loss for McNary (10-14, 2-10) had moments of dominance, stretches of being dominated and electricity that seemed to buzz through the gym.
The third set of the night was easily the most competitive and thrilling. The high energy set was the lone win for McNary on the night at 28-26.
McNary led by six at one point in the third set before a West Salem comeback that saw the Titans take a two point advantage.
Some teams may have seen the Titans surge and the evaporating lead in the third set and gave up, especially after a second set that was completely dominated by the Titans. But that wasn’t the play for the Lady Celts.
After going down in the set, McNary didn’t give in, didn’t allow West Salem to reach set point, and eventually took the set to keep the match alive. Senior Taylor Detrant and teammates were constantly diving to the floor and nearly into the stands to keep balls alive.
Unfortunately for the Lady Celts, that energy from the third set just wasn’t there for them in the fourth.
West Salem got out to an early lead and stayed ahead of McNary, finishing the match with a 25-9 win in the fourth set.
The regular season may be finished, but the Lady Celts still have work to do as they head into the postseason. Currently ranked No. 23, they’ll likely be facing a top-10 opponent in the first round when rankings freeze on Saturday. The first round of the OSAA post season is on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
